Not My Class
by Desparate Dreamer
Summary: Jaune has always played an Assassin in RPGs, despite his knightly appearance. When he gains the ability to play his life like his favorite RPG, he decides to take the same approach he always does: Level up AGL and LCK until he can dodge anything, and kill the toughest bosses in a few critical hits. Unfortunately, it's a little more complicated than that.
1. Awkwardly Humble Beginnings

**AN:** I have to apologize everyone. The story I said I was writing, Night and Day, will have to go on a hiatus, even though it's not released yet. I've made a few key mistakes whilst plotting out it's story line and general mood, and I'm not sure if it will ever see the light of FFnet. If it does, it will most likely be completely different from what I've previously wrote, and maybe even changed themes as well.

To everyone who actually was waiting for it, I'm sorry. And as a way to make up for it, even though it's not much, I've decided to recommend another story that features a Jaune x Yang pairing. Super Saiyan Cyndaquil, the author of the wonderful story Auburn, has started a new project called Spectrum, which looks to be a RWBYization of one of the cooler animes I've seen, Katanagatari. It's been great so far, aside from a few pacing choices I take issue with, and it's a Jaune x Yang for those who are yearning for that neglected ship.

Now, onto this story.

I decided to take a shot at the Gamer Jaune concept because it just seemed so interesting. I obviously take a lot of inspiration from other authors that have written this concept before, but I can't remember all the names at the moment. If any of those authors read this and notice something they think I pulled directly from their story, and want me to give them a shout out, please just PM me.

I also took the SPECIAL system from the popular franchise Fallout (Fallout 4 hype!), so I give full credit to Interplay and those fine gentlemen who came up with that awesome acronym. I actually learned how to spell the word 'acronym' from Fallout, so there's a fun fact for ya.

Without further interruption, please enjoy...

* * *

Jaune felt the warmth of his Aura spread through him. Like a light filling the darkness of his heart, it overflowed and lit up his being with a new purpose. His true purpose: becoming a Huntsman.

"There you are Jaune, all ready for your trip to Beacon." Jaune opened his eyes as his twin sister, Janis, uncupped his cheek and caught her breath after unlocking his Aura.

"Thanks so much for this, Janis. It means a lot." And it did. Especially to him, who felt so ostracized by the rest of his family.

He took a good look at Janis. A more feminine and beautiful version of himself. And, by what the people of his village say, much more talented too. Full white plate armor, and Crocea Mors proudly strapped to her hip. She fit the ideal image of an Arc heiress through and through.

Jaune fingered his own plain sword, the only thing he could afford with the meager amount of money he was able to save for this day.

He had always been jealous of his sister's talent with a sword and shield, but he could never find it in himself to resent her. She was better than he was at fighting, and he was a coward that couldn't stand behind a shield proudly like her, instead preferring to roll with the punches and avoid the blows of blades. It was why she inherited the Arc's knightly title, along with Crocea Mors, instead of him.

But that was just the way it was, it wasn't her fault.

None of that mattered now though. He may have had a somewhat strained relationship with her before, but she was still his beloved sister. They trusted each other with everything, it was the reason why he told her of his plan to run away from home, and the only reason why she actually decided to help him with something so stupid.

She even gave him her old armor! Just a plain white breastplate and a pair of spaulders, but still a way of saying, "Stay safe", without words. In his eyes, she was his one true family.

He adjusted a strap on his shoulder, and let his hand slide across the slick, angled surface of his armor.

"Jaune, you're smiling like an idiot again." Janis snorted at his expression, and Jaune flushed in embarrassment.

"Sorry. It's just so lightweight and sleek. I really like it, Sis." He gave her his best smile in appreciation. She smiled back in return, admiring the armor as well.

"Yes, it is a surprisingly good fit for you." Suddenly her eyes turned sharp. "Just remember: it's not meant to take an Ursa claw straight on. Glancing blows and light strikes shouldn't be a problem, but don't run in like an idiot expecting it to save you." She warned with a stern expression, one which Jaune recognized as the Arc's signature glare. Another thing he didn't seem to inherit.

"I know, I know. I'll be careful, okay?" He put his hands up in a placating way with a gentle smile. After a few decisive moments, Janis' glare dropped as she sighed.

"Just... come back alive." She pleaded. Her eyes shined with concern, making Jaune realize just how much this must have been weighing on her.

Of course it was, Hunters had dangerous jobs. Killing monsters and dealing with dangerous criminals for a living was understandably worrisome for the family members of the people assigned to do such dirty work, even if said family members were Hunters themselves.

Jaune grasped Janis by the shoulders reassuringly, and pulled her into a hug. "I will. I promise I will," he whispered in her ear. Jaune pulled away, keeping her at an arms length embrace as he did so, and gave her a goofy smile. "And who knows? I might bring home a girl." He added offhandedly.

Janis snorted again, this time breaking into full-blown laughter, which only damaged Jaune's feeble pride further. A few people in the Airship Hangar gave them strange looks, making Jaune become even more self-conscious.

"Janis..." Jaune whined, interrupting her giggle fit. She stifled her chuckles, and gave him a not-so-apologetic grin.

"Sorry, Jaune. But you've never been good with girls." Jaune frowned.

"But I've done everything Dad said to do..." He countered halfheartedly.

"Dad had to corner Mom at a bar to confess, Jaune. You should really stop listening to his advice." Jaune's frown deepened.

Maybe she was right. Maybe he should stop trying to be like his Dad. He couldn't hold a shield like him, couldn't swing a sword like him, and he couldn't uphold the family name like him.

He couldn't become a knight like him, or the rest of his family for that matter, and he was basically cutting all ties with them until he proved he could be a Huntsman, so why should he try to be like them?

Well, the answer should be obvious, shouldn't it?

Jaune smiled.

He was going to become his own man, strip away the burdens of his family name and make his own story. His own legend.

That's what this journey was about. He was going to become a hero, training to fight evil at Beacon Academy. He was going to prove to his family, to everyone, that he could become someone great.

Janis separated from their prolonged hug, and pointed towards the Airship Dock.

"The Airship is leaving, Jaune. You should go." Jaune nodded, making sure to memorize the look of pride she had.

"Uh huh, thanks again, Janis." Her lip trembled as he let go of her shoulders, and Jaune turned away just as the first tear leaked through her eyelids. He didn't want to see the pain he was causing her, he wanted to remember her smiling face.

Because he had to do this, for himself. It was selfish, but it has to be done.

And with that conviction, Jaune stepped onto the Airship that would take him to his future.

He was finally on his way to becoming a hero!

* * *

Do heroes get motion sickness?

 **Blaaaarrrrrggh!**

Jaune saw the other students back away from him in disgust as he unloaded his breakfast into the nearest trashcan.

It was hard enough surviving the flight to Vale, but then the connecting flight to Beacon had taken them unusually high since the school was on the large cliff above the town, which only made his vision swim faster and his stomach become more violent.

He was lucky he had managed to avoid throwing up on that blonde girl's shoe. That would have made it even harder to make friends. At least he could play this off as an unlucky coincidence without having a nickname like 'Vomit Boy' follow him around because of a ruined pair of shoes' revenge.

With a final dry-heave, Jaune leaned away from the wretched trashcan and headed back to his seat. A raven-haired girl Jaune had never seen before had taken the seat next to his while he was busy regurgitating, reading a book he had never heard of. He would have tried to make small talk, seeing as she seemed to be alone, but he didn't trust his stomach at the moment.

Plus, he was sure she just scooted further away.

Sighing to himself, while also lamenting his weak stomach, Jaune pulled his plain sword out of it's leather sheath. He hadn't taken a good look at it before, since it was the only weapon he could afford, and the appearance or quality wasn't factored into his budget.

It was... fine, he supposed. Not really recognizable with it's plain black metal and double-edged blade, but good enough that he could cut into a stump without chipping or scratching it. He wasn't an expert on weapons, but he was sure he could cut Grimm hide with enough strength.

He heard the girl next to him hum in interest of something. Turning his attention to her once again, he caught her eyes staring for just a moment before darting back to her book.

Did... did she think he wouldn't notice something so obvious? No, she was obviously smart, she was reading a novel thicker than most history books. Did she assume he wouldn't call her out on it then? Well then she would be... absolutely right. There was no way he was going to accuse this random girl of staring at him while he examined a sword, that would make him seem weird.

"Can I help you?" Her monotone and, dare he say, unfriendly, voice broke him out of his thoughts, and he realized she had put her book down to speak to him. He noticed her lips were turned up in an almost unnoticeable, but still obviously mischievous, smirk.

Wait, was she calling him out on staring at her? That was her plan!?

"Uhh... I... uh..." Jaune's eyes darted around as he thought up a good excuse for his staring. They landed on her black bow, and he decided that would do. "Your bow!" She arched an eyebrow. "It's, uh, very cute." Jaune mentally screamed. He was doomed to be labeled a weirdo for sure, a pervert that stares! It wasn't even the first day, either! It was day zero, for crying out loud!

The girl didn't seem to share in his awkward plight, instead looking him up and down, as if she were inspecting him for impurities, before looking at the sword in his lap.

"That's an interesting sword-"

She ignored him?!

"-where did you get it?" She brought her golden-amber irises back up to his own cerulean.

"Oh, uh, I bought it at a pawn shop." Silence reigned as his mind played catch up with his mouth. His forehead started to pour sweat once he realized his mistake.

"A pawn shop?" Jaune, once again, mentally screamed. Huntsmen don't buy their super awesome, one-of-a-kind weapons at pawn shops!

"Uh, yes!" He was crying inside. "My normal weapon broke during training, and I need to make another one. I bought this as a replacement while I attended initiation." Jaune could spot at least three plot holes in that very made-up story, and he was sure she could see five more he didn't.

He was ruined.

On day zero, by a girl he didn't even know no less!

"I see..." Both her tone and stare were scrutinizing, and Jaune waited for her scornful laugh, a look of utter contempt, or some other sign that she saw straight through his lie and was going to turn him over to the authorities for being a fake.

She was going to tell Headmaster Ozpin, and then he would be locked up for forgery and not even get a chance to prove himself to anyone, all because of a stupid, plain, black sword that he bought from a pawn shop in his village! All because he fell for this clever vixen's tra-

"That's unfortunate. Good luck with your new weapon." And just like that she switched modes, returning to her reading without a second glance.

What...?

Jaune was beyond confused, if he were more studious he would say he was floundered by her reaction. He wasn't that studious, so he just drew out the longest 'whaaaaaaat' he could in his mental stupor.

How did she not see through his lie? The lie, that was more transparent than the clear windows everyone was 'ooohing' and 'ahhhing' at behind them, went flying over her head like a Bullhead?

The girl he had continued to stare at, still ignoring him, stood and began walking away before he noticed that they were disembarking. He grabbed his sword and followed her as she weaved through the throng of passengers like some sort of ninja. Jaune was getting lost in the crowd, but there was one thing he needed to know.

"Wait!" The girl stopped just short of the exit and turned to him. He pushed through the last of the people separating them, and placed himself at a respectful distance. "What's your name?" He knew it was an awkward time to be asking that, but he just had to know.

"Blake. Blake Belladonna." He smiled and held out his hand for a handshake.

"Jaune Arc." She seemed hesitant to return the shake, but still began to bring her hand up to meet his. Jaune was excited, he was about to make his first friend!

But, of course, the universe had other ideas.

A passing girl in red sped by them, knocking Jaune off-balance, and he tumbled towards Blake. Being taken completely off-guard, both he and Blake were unprepared for his extended hand to land on her right breast...

They both just kind of... paused to register the situation.

Jaune was the first to recover, immediately removing his hand and recoiling back in shock.

"Oh Oum! I'm so sorry!" Blake held her book closer to her chest, covering the offended breast, and refused to meet his eyes.

"No, it's fine. It was an accident." Her voice seemed smaller and held more emotion than her previous monotone, but not in the good, friendly way he was hoping to get from her. The vulnerable way her voice shook was completely undermining her excusing it as an accident, and that made him very uncomfortable.

They both stood in an awkward silence, Jaune scratching his head in embarrassment, and Blake continuing to avoid looking in his general direction.

"I'll see you later then." Her monotone returned in full force, making him feel even worse, and she left before he could respond.

He held his hand out in a 'wait and let me explain' gesture, but it was pointless. She had swiftly navigated to a clear stone path, and was already opening her book while kicking her pace up to a brisk power-walk to get away from him. All because of a stupid, silly accident.

Such misfortune.

Sighing for the umpteenth time, Jaune disembarked as well. He took a seat on the railing just outside the Airship, putting his head in his hands to stare at his feet.

"Why me...?" He breathed that question into his hands just so the world could know about his frustrations, if nothing else.

Suddenly, he heard a ' **blip** ' in his ear.

What was that?

It sounded like the sound his favorite RPG, Heroes Awakened, made when you got a message.

Was he hearing things now? He must be hearing things.

Jaune wiped his face before opening his eyes and coming face to face with a giant blue box that read " **EVENT COMPLETED** " in just-as-giant text.

Jaune wanted to scream, wanted to express his shock and surprise somehow, but his mind calmed before he had the chance to.

In fact, he was unusually calm as he stared at the blue box, trying to understand what he was looking at.

Just what was going on?

He examined the box. It was a transparent-blue, like the message boxes in Heroes Awakened, and it had the same font as well. Jaune turned his head to look at it from the side, and the box held in place so he could look around it.

He gasped.

Everyone in the courtyard now had a large box floating above their head with three lines of text. Jaune couldn't read what most of them said because they were so far away, but he caught a glimpse of Blake's as she walked further down the path in front of him.

 **Blake Belladonna**

 **"Beautiful Beast"**

 **Lvl 5**

A... level?

"What is going on?" Just as these words left his lips, another message box replaced the old one, and the same ' **blip** ' noise played again.

 **Welcome, Gamer! This is your new Semblance!**

 **…The Gamer!**

 **You have been chosen by the gods to wield it's infinite power, would you like a tutorial?**

 **Yes / No**

Jaune nearly blanched. He actually would have, if not for the strange way his brain seemed to calm itself despite the completely otherworldly things happening around him.

He read the message again, just to make sure he was understanding it right.

Semblance? He had heard his sisters mention it more than once, things like super strength and telepathy. But you weren't supposed to find it until years after you unlocked your Aura!

"You have been chosen by the gods..."? Was that flavor text? If his... Semblance was copying Heroes Awakened, then it would make the most sense.

Reluctantly, he reached forward and pushed the ' **Yes** ' button. A new window replaced the current one, and Jaune felt instant nostalgia.

The window was the same as the messages before, but now it was an inventory screen exactly like the one in Heroes Awakened. He saw his armor, hoodie, shirt, jeans, and shoes lined up in the clothes/armor slots, and a blank item in his weapon slot.

Before he could question the blank item, another message popped up, followed by the telltale ' **blip** '.

 **Welcome to the tutorial, Gamer! We will now begin with the Inventory screen!**

 **This is the screen that shows what you have equipped on your person.**

 **There are slots for shoes, shirts, pants, jackets, armor, weapons, and accessories.**

 **Note: You cannot equip/unequip items from this screen. That must be done in real time.**

 **Sorry!**

 **Continue?**

Oooo... kay? So, he had an inventory that organized all of his stuff. Got it.

Satisfied with the information, he hit continue. The inventory screen shrunk into the top bar that held all the screen's tabs, and a new tab was opened.

It displayed:

 **SPECIAL**

 **S: 5 (0%)**

 **P: 5 (0%)**

 **E: 4 (0%)**

 **C: 4 (0%)**

 **I: 5 (0%)**

 **A: 7 (0%)**

 **L: 6 (0%)**

 **Skills**

 **Swordsmanship Mastery: 15 (0%)**

 **Light Armor Mastery: 10 (0%)**

 **Parrying Mastery: 15 (0%)**

 **The Gamer's Mind (Toggle)**

 **The Gamer's Body (Toggle)**

 **Perks**

 **The Gamer**

Jaune didn't even need the tutorial to figure out what this screen was.

 **This is the Skill screen, Gamer.**

 **Here you will see all of your current skill levels, points, and perks.**

 **Here you also see something special called... SPECIAL.**

 **This is a system that lets you increase your attributes.**

 **The letters stand for Strength, Perception, Endurance, Charisma, Intelligence, Agility, and Luck. Each of these attributes will affect parts of your life such as loot drop chances, stamina, damage, maximum Aura, and health.**

 **To gain skill points, you must level up after obtaining a certain amount of experience, or EXP, in that skill.**

 **To gain attribute points, you must do special actions such as exercise or study to obtain experience for the specific attribute that said action is associated with.**

 **To gain perks, you must accomplish special goals, such as quests and events.**

 **That's it!**

 **Have fun discovering your own unique playstyle!**

 **Continue?**

Hitting continue, another, smaller screen popped up. He heard faint shouting in the distance, but ignored it in favor of the new, and infinitely more interesting, screen.

 **Relationships**

 **Blake Belladonna (None): Awkward**

 **Janis Arc (Arc Family): Close Family**

 **Relations**

 **Arc Family: Estranged**

 **Beacon: Student-To-Be**

 **Titles**

 **Vomit Boy**

 **Runaway**

Jaune tilted his head in confusion.

'Relationships and Relations? What's the difference?'

The tutorial answered his question immediately.

 **I'm glad you asked, Gamer!**

What a timely Semblance.

 **This is the Relationship screen.**

 **It shows your relationships with the different people and factions of the world.**

 **The Relationships show how certain individuals feel towards you, and how you feel towards them. Basically, your relationship with them!**

 **The Relations show your relationship with the various factions you encounter.**

 **The most interesting feature, perhaps, is the Title system.**

 **The Title system allows you to gather various titles from special events and quests. These titles give bonuses outside of combat, such as increases in passive skills or special interactions with certain factions or individuals. You do not need to equip these titles for the bonuses to take affect, that feature is mainly for self-expression.**

 **Experiment with the various titles and see what happens!**

 **Note: You can see which faction each individual belongs to, if you have encountered said faction, under the Relationships menu.**

 **Continue?**

Jaune hit continue, bringing up an options menu with the audio, video, and controls all grayed out.

 **This is the Options screen, Gamer.**

 **It's just for show, so you don't have to worry about it!**

Jaune facepalmed as the screen disappeared without him even having to hit continue.

The next screen looked exactly like the one that was hovering over Blake's head...

 **Name: Jaune Arc**

 **Title: Runaway**

 **Level: 1**

 **HLP: 100**

 **STM: 200**

 **ARP: 1000**

…except it was WAY more depressing.

 **This is the last screen, Gamer. The Overview Screen.**

 **This screen shows you a basic overview of your level, currently equipped title, name, and your Health Points (HLP), Stamina (STM), and Aura Points (ARP).**

 **Pretty easy, huh?**

 **Now go out there and save the world!**

The screen returned to the Inventory Tab, and Jaune was left with his jaw hanging open. He just got his semblance the day he unlocked his Aura, and it turned his life into a video game.

Well, that wasn't exactly right. It basically just gave him his life in numbers that he could manipulate. He couldn't increase his intelligence with the press of a button, but he could watch his intelligence increase as he studied. Not as cool, but still pretty damn cool.

'If this were a normal RPG, I'd put all of my points into Luck and Agility so I could be an untouchable badass Assassin-type, but I can't exactly do that. I'll need to grind the skills first, and that's going to be hard to do in real life. Plus, how do you increase the Luck skill anyway? Or is it an attribute?'

And why was he thinking so clearly all of a sudden?

That really did strike Jaune as strange. He thought back to when he first started to think more clearly despite having an impossible, physics-and-reality-breaking system thrust into his face. It happened just after the first event message appeared, if he remembered correctly.

When his semblance activated, in other words. So, what happened?

Jaune quickly scrolled through all of the tabs multiple times until he landed on the perks menu.

 **Perks**

 **The Gamer**

'The Gamer?'

Jaune tapped the name in hopes something would happen. Lucky for him, another message popped up.

 **The Gamer**

 **For completing the intro event, you have been given the Gamer's Body and The Gamer's Mind skills.**

 **These skills make your body rely on HLP, ARP, and STM instead of normal pain and fatigue. The Gamer's Mind also makes you immune to psychological effects, such as panic or depression. Though you must remember, this also affects positive psychological effects, such as happiness or contentment.**

Now it made sense. The reason why he was so calm and analytical was because of The Gamer's Mind. Yet... it felt so... empty. He really didn't like that.

He quickly scrolled to the skills and saw the toggle button on The Gamer's Mind, switching it off and having his emotions return.

He was immediately assaulted by his sense of panic and surprise that The Gamer's Mind was suppressing. Followed by his excitement and elation at realizing just how cool his semblance was! He was completely overwhelmed by the various conflicting emotions inside him. So much so that his throat choked up, and he barely stopped himself from howling on sheer instinct.

He gripped his head as if he had a splitting headache to try and reign in his emotions, eventually calming himself enough to hear that same faint shouting in the distance. Whoever was fighting must really be going at it.

As he was recovering, he closed the Inventory window, and another message popped up.

 **Congratulations on completing the intro event: Awkwardly Humble Beginnings**

 **Your level has increased, raising your Aura to new heights! Would you like to compare your stats to someone on your Relationships list?**

 **Yes / No**

He clicked yes, and, with no one else at Beacon to compare himself to, selected Blake from the Relationships list.

 **Jaune Arc**

 **"Runaway"**

 **Lvl 2**

 **HLP: 100**

 **STM: 200**

 **ARP: 1200**

 **/... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...\**

 **Blake Belladonna**

 **"Beautiful Beast"**

 **Lvl 5**

 **HLP: 500**

 **STM: 1000**

 **ARP: 500**

 **Relationship: Awkward**

'Well... that's disconcerting to say the least...'

The only thing he had going for him was his Aura, and that was only because the Arcs had always had larger Auras than normal Hunters. His relationship with her didn't make him feel any better either. He should apologize to her later, and try to show her that he wasn't one of those creeps who groped girls on public transport.

For now though, he needed to find the-

 **BOOM!**

The courtyard was rocked all the way to the docks by the sudden explosion. Jaune nearly toppled over the railing and fell off the cliff, with only his luck saving him.

"What the-"

 **Blip~**

His sentence was once again cut off by another message box.

 **Luck +1!**

He paused to stare that the message for a few seconds, toying with thirteen years of gaming logic in his head.

'So that's how it works...' He understood how to level his Luck up now.

He cautiously peered over the railing at the unending drop to nothing but clouds and certain death, and gulped.

He had to take chances and risks for there to be an increase. That was the requirement. Well, he did say that Hunters had a dangerous job, so he shouldn't have to go out of his way to level it up at least.

Now what was that explosion?

* * *

 **AN:** I'm sure we all have questions relating to the plot. Things like: "Why does Jaune not have Crocea Mors?", and "Why is Blake so interested in Jaune's plain, old, boring sword?", and of course "Why isn't Jaune's Semblance overpowered like in all the other Gamer fics?"

All will be explained in due time, I have a plan. Except for that last one, it's obvious an overpowered Semblance would ruin any of the tension and adventurous spirit this fic could have, so I threw any of the overpowered, one-hit-instakill stuff out. For now, at least. You need to level up for those privileges.

Sorry, I'm getting a bit off track. *coughs into hand*

I know where I'm going with this story, for the most part at least, and I'd appreciate any suggestions and reviews, so please do that. But be warned, I may not pick yours if it doesn't fit into the story. I'm a picky guy, after all.

Thanks to my awesome beta, Maxaro, who I think I should mention more often because he's a damn good critic. He even coined a term about me, "DD's pacing magic" (his words not mine), and I have never had a better compliment before in my life. So, thanks for that, it really means a lot.

Was that bragging? Well, whatever. It makes me feel happy inside, so I wanted to share it.

Remember, review and leave me some suggestions for cool game mechanics I can implement or other cool ideas, and don't forget to follow so you get the next chapter in your email.

Thanks for reading, auf wiedersehen!

* * *

Svenska är skit: vad tror du vinner i ett slagsmål, en miljard lejon eller solen? (What do you think would win in a fight? One billion lions, or the Sun?)

Somehow, I pictured Yang when I read that. Which is slightly stranger than this question's context. Um, the Sun, I guess. I mean, Icarus didn't even make it to the Sun's surface before he burned to ashes, or melted his wings which caused him to fall to his death, whichever version you prefer. Either way, I think the lions would die if they got too close, or too far away for that matter, from the Sun. We are the luckiest planet in the solar system for that very reason after all.

Oh wait! Unless I mistranslated, and you meant Sun from RWBY. In which case the lions would definitely win, because of sheer numbers. Or did you mean a different Sun? I'm confused. I need to sleep...


	2. The Prodigy And The Poser

**AN:** So, this was the first week of college. I got English and Image Manipulation two days of the week and Effective Speaking one day of the week. All in all, it's pretty nice. It does cut into my free time though, and I'm looking into getting a job at the library so that's even more of my time ate up, but what can you do?

This is just a general heads up, but I may not update very often because of my obvious responsibilities as a college student. I hope you all understand.

Well, that's all I have to say. Onto Jaune's adventure...

* * *

After closing the notification, Jaune began jogging in the direction of the explosion. He didn't have to look very far, it seemed as though something had exploded in the front courtyard. He saw Blake walking away from the scene with a smug sort of stride, and a girl dressed in all white heading in the opposite direction, silently fuming by the look of it.

He couldn't see the girl in white's Overview box, so he couldn't identify her. But something in the core of his being told him he didn't want to get on her bad side.

He called out to Blake, but didn't get a response. She kept walking, reading her book again, before disappearing behind one of the many buildings surrounding the courtyard.

He sighed, feeling more and more depressed over the misunderstanding with Blake.

'How am I supposed to fix a first impression? Just apologize? Is it that simple?' He cursed his social awkwardness.

He was so lost in his thoughts of how to fix his quickly deteriorating relationship with her that he almost didn't see the girl in red staring dejectedly above the crater she was lying in. He didn't quite grasp what had happened, but the look of absolute defeat on her face was enough motivation for him to temporarily put his own problems aside to help a stranger.

'I guess I'm not the only one having a horrible first day...'

He gathered his confidence and strode over to her prone position, making sure he didn't look like the awkward teen he was. He got within range of her Overview and tried to read her name, but instead he saw something strange.

 ** **?****

 ** **"?"****

 ** **Lvl ?****

He stopped in his tracks.

'I can't see her Overview? But I could see Blake's fine, so why not hers?'

When no answer magically came to him, like he hoped it would, he continued forward.

 ** **Event: The Prodigy And The Poser****

Jaune was really starting to think his Semblance had some sort of grudge against him. If his Stats weren't enough of a reminder of how weak he was, the Titles and Events really hit it home.

The Event notification closed, and he continued towards the girl, who had sat up and seemed to be wiping her eyes.

'Is she crying? Crap!' She must have thought she was being avoided and let her feelings get to her. He needed to remedy this!

Quickening his pace, he hurried to her side. He held his hand out, inviting her to take it, and introduced himself.

"Hey... I'm Jaune."

'Smooth, Arc.' He thought sarcastically.

After hearing his voice, the girl hurriedly finished wiping her eyes and looked up. Slightly confused, she squinted to get a better look at his shadowed face, and he hoped she didn't recognize him from the airship. He breathed a sigh of relief when she smiled and took his outstretched hand.

"Ruby..." Well, at least they _both_ sounded like awkward teens. Thing in common number one!

…

Yeah, that didn't really make him feel any better, but hey! At least she didn't recognize him!

She snickered as she got to her feet, "Aren't you the guy that threw up on the ship?"

'Of course...'

' ** **Blip**** '

 ** **Congratulations! You've made your first friend and unlocked the Friend/Party Menu. Tap the Hint to check it out!****

A bar with the word ' **Hint** ' appeared in the corner of his vision following the notification.

Jaune ignored the pop up until it closed by itself, instead focusing on explaining to Ruby the very intricate and underrated issue that was motion sickness.

* * *

"All I'm saying is; motion sickness is a much more common problem than people let on." Jaune motioned with his hands to accentuate his point.

It had only been a few minutes since he met Ruby, but he was already feeling much more comfortable now that he had someone who was just as socially awkward as himself to relate to. Even if the only thing they had to talk about was his motion sickness.

"Look, I'm sorry. Vomit Boy was the first thing that came to mind." She explained, which didn't exactly help Jaune's shortening fuse.

Somehow, that damned nickname had come back to haunt him. It was like elementary school all over again!

'I just had to jinx myself, didn't I? Well, if I'm Vomit Boy...'

"Oh yeah, what if I called you Crater Face!?" He retorted rather poorly. Though, it still got a rise out of her nonetheless.

The nickname was a great disservice to the girl he had somehow befriended, who, as the Event had said, was a prodigy. Jaune took a look at her now unlocked Overview above her head and felt his pride recede in shame.

 ** **Ruby Rose****

 ** **"Crimson Death"****

 ** **Lvl 7****

So, as it turned out, he had to know the person before their Overview appeared above their head. Something his Semblance had failed to mention in the Tutorial, and something that didn't occur in Heroes Awakened whatsoever.

But onto the outrageous part, she was two levels higher than Blake! Two! And she was supposedly younger, if her explanation of her older sister ditching her was anything to go by. He was outclassed by a little girl who had exploded within ten minutes of getting off the airship.

'Not that I think less of her, of course not. But... it's just... really? I'm really _that_ weak?'

His eyes quickly shifted back to her own fascinating silver as she bristled, frowning in the way Jaune's adorable little sisters would when they didn't get a cookie before dinner.

"Hey! That explosion was an accident!" She cried indignantly, effectively ending any argument he may have had with her pout.

Jaune saw a rare opportunity to be suave in the lull of the conversation, remembering the line his Dad had told him to use when introducing himself. As he was about to recite it, he remembered Janis' advice.

'I keep accidentally falling back on Dad's tips out of habit. That's exactly what I need to fix.' He mentally scolded himself. 'Don't listen to Dad, you're not him. You're your own man, Jaune Arc. Now do this right!'

Jaune stopped, making Ruby stop as well with a questioning tilt of her head, and turned to face her. He took a hero's pose with his hands on his hips and his chest puffed out.

"Well, I'm Jaune Arc, not Vomit Boy. I may not look like much now, but by the time we graduate I'll be a hero and you won't be laughing then." He closed his eyes and turned his nose slightly up, trying to imitate the heroes on Saturday morning cartoons. When Ruby didn't respond after a few seconds, he cracked one eye open to see what she was doing.

She stood there, completely awestruck and gaping like a surprised goldfish. Jaune dropped his act, both confused and concerned for her, waving a hand in front of her face to get her attention.

"You okay, Ruby?" He was met with a quick shake of her head, apparently to help her return to the land of the living, and she seemed to come back to her senses.

"Sorry, you just looked like a knight there for a second, hehe..."

Jaune flinched at the mention of that word.

'Knight...'

It didn't hold the same meaning it did when he was a kid.

Knights were the heroes that saved the Princess from the Grimm Dragon. He had always looked up to those strong, selfless men in shining armor. Ever since he was a kid, he tried to live up to that ideal so hard, but with naught to show for it.

He wasn't a knight, he could never be a knight. He had already tried, and disappointed his family in the process.

He fingered his plain sword, the only thing marking him as a warrior, and thought, _'If I'm not a knight, what am I?'_

Ruby shifted her weight from foot to foot, waiting for him to respond and end the awkward silence that followed her embarrassing admittance. Realizing he wasn't going to speak, her eyes wandered for a topic to talk about. Taking a glance at him tapping his weapon, she grinned.

"So... I got this thing." A loud swish and thud, as metal shifted and impaled itself in the ground, broke Jaune out of his thoughts. He stared at the massive red farming tool the little reaper just produced with a wary curiosity.

"Is... that a scythe?" Just as he questioned this, a box appeared next her weapon in smaller text than any of the previous boxes.

 ** **Crescent Rose (One-of-a-kind)****

 ** **Owner: Ruby Rose****

 ** **The construction of Ruby Rose and beloved bringer of death to all Grimm she comes across. Forged in the Smithies of Signal, much care and planning went into this instrument of death, and it has a Grimm kill record to show for it. It is truly a weapon befitting The Reaper himself.****

 ** **Type: Gunblade****

 ** **Capacity: 10****

 ** **Skill: Polearm Mastery/Scoped Rifle Mastery****

 ** **Effects: Intimidation and Fear****

 ** **Info: Weak against armored opponents.****

 ** **"Just weapons? They're an extension of ourselves, they're a part of us! Oh, they're so cool..." -Ruby Rose****

As Jaune gaped at the massive scythe, another hint popped into the corner of his vision, briefly flashing to alert him to it's presence before merging with the already waiting hint and notifying him that he had two hints to check.

He was too busy questioning how Ruby could wield such a large, metal death machine to pay it much attention though.

'And did my Semblance quote her? But she's never said that to me, so did it get it from somewhere else? How? Aren't Semblances normally limited to the user and not the world around them?'

'Does this mean The Gamer can affect things around me instead of just being a stat tracker?'

Ruby cocking her oversized farming tool brought Jaune back from his thoughts.

"It's also a customizable, high-impact sniper rifle." She added, confusing Jaune further.

"A..." he glanced at the Info Box hovering next to the blade, "… gun?" Ruby rewarded his borrowed knowledge with an excited nod. "That's cool!" He may not know much about weapons, but he definitely knew when something was awesome, and those Stats spoke for themselves.

Just as he was feeling good about himself, Ruby threw him for a loop.

"So, what do you got?" Jaune gave surprised, "Oh!", before clumsily unsheathing his sword from his hip.

"Well, I've got this... sword." He held the black blade in front of her face, in what Jaune thought was a dangerously close proximity. Ruby didn't seem frightened in the least about being so close to a sharp object though. In fact, she seemed elated.

She ooh!-ed, expecting more, but quickly realized that was all he had. Instead, she took a long look at the straight edged blade, inspecting it with the eye of a master smith. She ran her fingers along the flat side of the edge, looking for any chinks or scratches, but finding none.

She hummed in approval, "You take good care of this sword, Jaune. The blade is perfect." Jaune could only smile and pretend he didn't bash a stump to test it out.

But then he had a thought.

'What if Ruby can help me make an actual weapon? The info box did say she made her own super-scythe, so she could teach me too. I could have a super cool, one-of-a-kind weapon like hers!'

He really liked the idea of becoming a hero with a weapon he made. So, with his mind made, he decided to tell her the truth. Or at least, the half-truth he told Blake.

"Actually, Ruby, this isn't my normal weapon," she looked up at him quizzically, "I bought this at a pawn shop as a replacement. My old sword kinda broke during a training session." He gave her a lopsided smile as a way of covering up his white lie.

"Really? Well that sucks." She looked down, mourning the death of his fictional blade, before jerking her head up with a fire behind her eyes. Jaune recoiled a bit in surprise as she got face-to-face with him. "Are you gonna make a new one?! Because I could help! C'mon, please?" She fluttered her eyelashes, obviously trying to make him give in even though he already decided to ask her for help. He smiled down on her, honestly happy that he made such a good friend.

"I would really appreciate that Ruby," he had to resist the temptation to pat her head like he did with his little sisters, "I've never really used a forge before anyways." He added as an afterthought. Her eyes widened in shock.

"Didn't you make your weapon in school?" Jaune felt his sweat begin to drop again. He wasn't prepared for this question!

"Uhh, no... I-I was home schooled." He threw out yet another half-truth. "My Dad made me a sword when I started training, and I used it ever since." Ruby frowned, and Jaune feared he had said something he shouldn't have.

"You shouldn't do that, Jaune. Weapons are an extension of our soul! What's the point if we don't make them ourselves?" At this, Jaune both relaxed and smiled. He was very glad he met Ruby, she seemed like a wonderful Huntress already.

Unlike him, who had to rely on others and lie to even get a chance to prove himself.

He knocked that thought away, focusing instead on Ruby's gushing about weapons and how a Hunter should treat them. She suddenly switched tempo and started naming off all the unique weapons she had seen at Beacon so far.

Jaune decided to stop her at the cudgel/sawed-off shotgun combo.

"Hey, Ruby?" She stopped her tirade mid-sentence to answer him.

"Yes, Jaune?" Jaune took a look at their surroundings. During their walk, they stopped in some sort of garden area.

"Where are we?" He gestured to their general vicinity.

"Ummmm..." she trailed off as she looked around, finding no one in sight and not a single landmark she recognized, before turning back to him and shrugging awkwardly.

He sighed.

'Just great...'

* * *

"There it is!" Ruby called as she sped ahead of Jaune at Mach 2.

Jaune himself was panting heavily from the short run there. At some point, a green bar appeared in the corner of his vision, informing him of his Stamina's status. No numbers to guide him, just the green bar draining rapidly.

Two minutes.

It had only taken two minutes for his Stamina to run dry. That seemed really pathetic, even if his Stamina was only two hundred. With some basic math, he knew that every hundred Stamina points stood for roughly a minute of exertion. And with that knowledge, not to mention his burning lungs, he decided he was going to jog more often.

It was lucky they ran into one of the professors that worked at Beacon, Professor Peach if he remembered her name right. It would have taken much longer for them to find the Auditorium without her directions.

He arrived at the entrance much later than Ruby, still panting while placing his hands on his knees to catch his breath. He could practically hear the flashing red Stamina bar begging him to rest.

He looked up at Ruby, wondering how she could run so fast and not be winded at all.

"Ruby! Over here, I saved you a spot!" Jaune turned his tired head in the direction of the shout, and audibly groaned.

It was the girl he nearly puked on. Of course she had to know Ruby, why would the gods ever make it easy for him?

Ruby turned to Jaune, "That's my sister Yang that I told you about." Jaune nodded glumly. "Well, I gotta go. I'll see you after the ceremony." And with that, she took off in the direction of her sister.

"Hey, wait!" Just like with Blake, his extended hand did nothing to stop her. "We were supposed to talk about... my... weapon... you know what, never mind." He could talk to her later, right now he needed to find a spot to watch the ceremony.

Before he started moving, he received another message.

 ** **Event Completed: The Prodigy And The Poser****

 ** **Title gained: Friend Of Death****

 ** **Friend successfully made! Charisma +1!****

He closed the message as he walked straight through the holographic text. He didn't want to bother figuring out how he gained Charisma, but his brain chugged along anyway.

'Maybe it's because I made a friend. But then, is that the only way? Do I have to specifically make friends? Or is it just talking to people in general?'

He pushed the many questions out of his head as he continued forward. He would have to test it out later.

Maneuvering between the many people, he noted that everyone, even the few animals allowed on campus, had a box containing the same three lines of text. Most of them were question marks, since he hadn't met very many people yet, but it gave his world a whole new look, like the Full-Dive game systems Atlas recently started developing. It was pretty cool, if he was honest.

He came to a stop at the back of the Auditorium, near the side exit, and took a look around.

He scanned the large, open room for a clear spot. He thought he saw a Blake somewhere in the crowd opposite of Ruby, and immediately pushed his way past people to get to her, thinking that now was as good a time to apologize as any. When he reached the spot where he saw her, though, she was long gone.

Sighing to himself, he made his way back to the side exit, where he found a nice quiet area with no one around. He didn't feel like watching the ceremony anymore, and instead wanted to check the hints that had been following him around. With no one paying him any attention, he opened the first hint.

 ** **Hint: You've unlocked the Friends/Party Menu in the Relationships Tab.****

Jaune reread that very, very unhelpful hint a few times before sighing and closing it.

'Parties? That was never a feature in Heroes Awakened. It was all singleplayer, with the hero of the land saving people and making everyone happy. There wasn't any party system. Why didn't it include that in the tutorial? Why is it suddenly only giving me the barebones of information?'

Deciding he'd figure it out eventually, meaning later, he opened the next hint.

 ** **Hint: To check the Stats of an Item, just look at it until an Info Box appears next to it.****

Well, that was simple. Actually, he already knew that, so it was completely useless!

While it WAS completely useless, it did remind him of his own weapon. Curious, Jaune unsheathed his simple sword and held it in front of him. Within a few seconds, a small Info Box **'** ** **blipped**** **'** into existence, much like how Ruby's Crescent Rose had done.

 ** **? (?)****

 ** **Owner: Jaune Arc****

 ** **Handed down and traded through generations of warriors and travelers, this sword had no one to call a master. It had been used in many legendary battles with no name and no history until it ended up in a pawn shop in a country village, and finally in the hands of an ordinary boy with extraordinary dreams.****

 ** **Type: Bastard Sword****

 ** **Skill: Swordsmanship Mastery****

 ** **Effects: Arrogance****

 ** **Info: Ineffective until level 3.****

 ** **"Well, I've got this... sword." -Jaune Arc****

Jaune found himself, once again, confused by the lack of information.

'More question marks and flavor text? Arrogance effect? Ineffective?'

More and more questions were appearing from thin air, and Jaune had no time to find any answers for them. It was really starting to get on his nerves.

The info screen was forcibly closed when a large boy bumped into Jaune, sending his sword clattering to the ground. Jaune quickly crouched to retrieve it, but the boy who had bumped into him put his large, armored boot on the blade to stop him. Jaune cautiously looked up.

Towering a full head over his normal height, the chestnut-haired boy was almost as intimidating as Crescent Rose. He had the look of a knight; large, bulky armor across most of his body, save for the joints and head, but his demeanor gave off a very different impression than that of a noble man of honor.

'Wow, I didn't know you could go from really frustrated to scared crapless in less than a second. Hehe, the more you know...'

"Don't you know how to apologize, loser?" The boy sneered. Jaune swiveled his head left and right before pointing to himself questioningly. "Yeah, you. It's not nice to bump into other people without an apology." The boy had a sinister smile plastered on his face with every condescending syllable, raising his voice to garner more attention.

Jaune noticed that most of the other students were hurrying out the doors, after the Headmasters speech apparently ended while he wasn't paying attention. They were either giving him sympathetic looks or glancing at him out of the corner of their eyes. It looked like they all were rooting for him, offering silent support.

Yet no one stopped.

"Well? Are you gonna apologize, or not?" The boy seemed to be getting impatient, and Jaune wondered if he would actually try to start a fight in such an open area. He was a bully, but he wasn't stupid was he?

That question reminded Jaune of the bullies in his old school, the only one he ever went to before he was pulled for homeschooling. They were brutes, picking on the weaker because they could, which meant Jaune was one of their main targets.

That was going to happen again, he was going to be a target because of his weakness. It was all going to repeat. The beatings when no one was looking, the crumbled papers of insults, the jeers and sneers, all of it.

'Isn't this supposed to be a school for heroes? Where are all the gallant horses and smiling fighters of justice? Am I just going to be pushed down, stomped on like I'm nothing, while the future generation of Huntsman and Huntresses watch from the sidelines? Aren't they here to help the weak? Aren't they the strong?'

 _ _'You're your own man, Jaune. Now do this right!'__ His own words from earlier that day echoed within him.

No, he wasn't the same Jaune Arc as before. He was Jaune Arc, Huntsman-in-training, now. Even if he lied and cheated to gain that title, it was still who he was.

He wasn't as strong as his peers, not even Ruby or his own flesh and blood sisters. He definitely wasn't as strong as this bully. But, he had to take a chance at some point, had to prove he could stand just as tall as the rest of them.

He wanted to be someone people could look up to, someone great, and nothing was getting in his way.

"No." The boy blinked at Jaune's downturned face.

"What was that?" Jaune stood to his full height, still being dwarfed but not letting the difference in size affect him.

At least on the outside, he was a cowering mess on the inside, but he couldn't let his own cowardice become his defining trait. He had to take a chance at some point, so he might as well start right away.

He met the bully's gaze, making the false-knight take a step back in surprise from the look of resolve in his eyes.

"I said no. You bumped into me, _you_ apologize." It took everything within Jaune to stop his voice from shaking. He knew that if his bet didn't pay off, he was going to get the crap kicked out of him and become a laughing stock. But he wouldn't allow himself to become the coward he was before.

A few of the students actually stopped when they heard his challenge. A crowd began to form around them, and Jaune's escape routes were cut off by the various bodies. His fate was sealed, it seemed. He just hoped that fate had planned more than seventeen years for him.

The false-knight clenched his fist, ready to leap at him and tear his throat out, while Jaune tensed his legs to dodge as best he could in the crowded circle. A sudden shout caused them both to stop and the surrounding crowd to part like the sea in wake of a Mistrali battleship.

 ** **Luck +1!****

'Wha-?'

His internal question was cut off as the source of the shout came into view.

"What is going on here!?" A blonde woman that Jaune was sure he'd seen somewhere before came to stand in between the two of them. She carried a clipboard with a list of first-year students, which she promptly checked for their names. "Mr. Arc?" She gave him a glare that put his sister's to shame before turning to the other boy. "Mr. Winchester? Is there a problem here?"

The two boys shared a look, and that was when Jaune realized he had just become a prime target for the bully. Whatever the false-knight was planning, Jaune knew he wouldn't be getting away Scot-free.

"Not at all, ma'am." Jaune said as he bent down to retrieve his weapon, which was free of the boot now that the Professor was there. The other boy, Something Winchester, gave a halfhearted grunt in agreement.

The intercom crackled to life as the crowd dispersed.

"Professor Goodwitch, the dining hall requires your assistance. It appears we have a slight problem in the kitchen. Do hurry." The Professor turned her head up to listen to the Headmaster's announcement before sighing and rubbing the bridge of her nose.

"Not again..." She looked back to the two of them. "I'll let you both off with a warning, but don't think you can pull one of these stunts again." She warned as she began her stiff, efficient walk to the dining hall.

Jaune sheathed his sword and walked out behind her, not even giving the bully another glance. He was still shaking inside, and he didn't want to see what type of expression the Winchester boy had for him.

Once he was a safe distance away, Jaune ran to the building the other first-years were streaming into, a large, castle-like, stone building that gave off the intimidation of an impenetrable fortress and the elegance of a formal gala at the same time. A black directional sign that read "Ballroom" in white text was positioned on the path leading into the building.

He entered to see many of the students setting up small areas with their luggage, but Jaune ignored them.

He hurried into the mens bathroom and stopped at a sink. Washing his face of the fear he just experienced, he finally let out a shaky breath.

 ** **Enemy gained: Cardin Winchester****

Jaune stared past the notification, completely ignoring it, at his reflection in the mirror. The notification disappeared as he moved away from it. The adrenaline was finally starting to wear off, and he felt the fear knot itself in the pit of his stomach.

"That was terrifying..." He wiped his face with a paper towel from the nearby dispenser before realizing he wasn't alone. He turned to the only other occupant of the mens bathroom, a mysterious boy with a striking pink highlight. Jaune eyed it, wondering if it was natural or dyed.

"Uh, hi. I'm Jaune. Jaune Arc." He introduced himself, only slightly less awkwardly than the last few times. The boy quickly finished brushing his teeth, spitting toothpaste into the running sink.

"Lie Ren. Just call me Ren." The boy returned impassively, only glancing at Jaune out of the corner of his eye while washing his toothbrush. The lull in the conversation turned into full-blown silence quicker than Jaune was comfortable with.

"Um, so where are we sleeping?" He pushed on.

"Here." Was Ren's simple answer. Jaune got the feeling he was a man of few words.

"What?" Jaune was genuinely surprised that they'd be sleeping in the ballroom, and not in, say, a comfy bed to shake off the jet lag.

"Ms. Goodwitch announced that in the Auditorium." Ren finished washing his toothbrush and slipped it back in it's carrying case. He turned to give Jaune his full attention.

"Oh. Yeah, I was... out of it. I missed the entire speech. So, we just sleep on the floor or...?" Jaune trailed off, not sure if he was asking a valid question or just making a fool of himself.

"No, we were told to bring accommodations. The school sent out an email before we got here." Jaune mentally cursed his paranoia. He put a fake email on his forged information for fear of being caught through it somehow.

"Dang, I changed emails after I got accepted. I would've brought my onesie if I knew." Jaune lied easily. It was becoming second nature by now, but it still left a bad taste in his mouth.

Ren gave him a strange yet still impassive stare before voicing his thoughts.

"I don't really know you, Jaune, but somehow I think that would've been a bad idea." With the amount of quiet confidence he had saying that, Jaune felt inclined to believe him.

Jaune laughed uneasily, deciding that he had had enough of the day and just wanted to sleep.

"Well, thanks for letting me know. I'm gonna go... find a soft piece of cement, or something." Ren nodded, and Jaune quickly left to find a quiet space to think.

As Jaune laid under one of the windows in the corner of the ballroom, he thought about his first day so far. He was having a very hard time finding the silver lining of it all.

He threw up on the ship. No surprise there, really.

He met Ruby, which was one of the good points of his day. He even got her to agree to help him make a weapon, so that should be fun. Assuming he didn't get killed by the first Grimm he saw, anyhow.

He sighed.

And then there was that bully, Whatever Winchester. He didn't want to have to deal with him ever again, although that wish was very unlikely to come true. But at least he stood up for himself, that was good. Unless it came back to bite him later. Then that was bad. Very, very bad.

He shifted, trying to find a comfortable position against the itchy, carpeted floor.

'Oh, and how could I forget? I accidentally sexually assaulted a girl I just met, and a really beautiful one at that...'

He mentally scolded himself for forgetting to track her down after the speech. He got too distracted by that fake knight, Winchester. The damn bully.

He tried shifting again, but the floor was uncomfortable no matter what position he was in. He was about to give up on sleeping altogether when he heard someone sit down on the other side of the grandfather clock to his right. With nothing else to do, he let his curiosity get the better of him and took a quick peek around the corner.

And there she was, the beauty he desperately wanted to apologize to, lighting a candle to read under.

"Blake?" Said girl jumped in surprise, nearly dropping the book she had just opened.

She blinked once before answering, "Jaune?", in a slightly more surprised monotone than when he first met her. He supposed it was better than the crushing indifference she had before.

He moved out from behind the clock, thinking of the best way to apologize as he did.

Unfortunately he was interrupted before he could get the chance.

"Hello~! I believe you three may know each other?" Jaune and Blake both turned in surprise of the boisterous call.

Jaune lamented his luck even further, briefly considering getting a lucky charm of some sort, when he realized the singsong voice was actually Ruby's sister. Said sister had apparently dragged Ruby over, if Jaune was seeing Ruby's struggle to escape her sister's clutches right.

Jaune attempted to blend into the background, hoping against hope that she didn't recognize him like her sister did.

"Wait, isn't that Vomit Boy?" And of course that didn't work.

"Yes." Both Ruby and Blake answered in unison, the former covering her mouth while the latter opened her book.

"Hey! I thought we talked about this, Ruby!" He pointed an accusing finger at the fidgeting reaper, "And how do you even know what that means, Blake?" He turned to the quiet girl, who stalwartly ignored all three of them to continue with her book.

"Anyway," the blonde continued, "My name's Yang. What's yours?" She gave a beaming smile that somehow made Jaune feel insignificant.

"Um, Jaune. Jaune Arc." He held out his hand timidly and she took it, shaking it with a grip that could crush a log.

"And you?" Yang let go of his hand, which he clutched like it would fall off at any second, in favor of greeting the other unwilling participant of the conversation. Blake sighed before answering.

"Blake." Her voice held a finality that told everyone the conversation was over. But apparently Yang didn't care enough to read that far into it.

"There you go, Ruby. Blake and Jaune, now make friends." She quickly pushed her sister forward, throwing her completely under the bus-shaped spotlight.

"Uh, hi. I'm Ruby." She greeted, much more awkwardly than when Jaune met her. Blake continued to read despite the effort being put in to get her to speak. Jaune honestly thought Blake was a lost cause at this point, which he heard Yang echo in a hushed whisper. The only reason he was ever able to talk to her was because she took an interest in him first, for whatever reason.

Blake flipped a page.

'Sooooo awkward.'

"Um." Ruby bit her lip as she thought up other conversation starters. "What are you reading?" To everyone, even Yang's, surprise, Blake actually looked up.

"What?" She even lowered the book slightly! Jaune was waiting with baited breath.

"Your book. What's it about?" For the first time since Jaune had met her, which admittedly wasn't long, Blake looked genuinely surprised at that question.

"Well, it's about a man with two souls, each fighting for control over his body." As Ruby and Blake began talking about stories, Jaune took the chance to sneak away.

With Blake and Ruby actually holding up a conversation, he decided he was better off behind the clock. He didn't see any chance to apologize with Ruby and her sister hanging around. He couldn't even find a point to join in on the conversation anyway, so he decided to go investigate his Semblance more.

'How do you open the Inventory? It never explained that.'

Jaune muttered a few expletives at his lack of understanding as he got comfortable under the window again.

He tried making various motions with his hands, like the ones he had seen in demos of Virtual Reality games being developed in Atlas, all to see if they would bring a drop down menu, or select something hidden at the top of his vision, but nothing worked. Then he had an epiphany.

'It can't be that easy... can it?'

"Inventory."

' **Blip** '

Apparently it was that easy. The same blue box with the fancy cursive writing popped into his vision.

 **Weapons**

 **Main Hand: [?]**

 **Off Hand: [ ]**

 **Armor**

 **Chest: [Training Chestplate]**

 **Legs: [ ]**

 **Arms: [Training Spaulders]**

 **Hands: [Fingerless Leather Gloves]**

 **Feet: [ ]**

 **Head: [ ]**

 **Clothes**

 **Shirt: [T-Shirt]**

 **Pants: [Blue Jeans]**

 **Jacket: [Black Hoodie]**

 **Shoes: [Old Tennis Shoes]**

 **Hat: [ ]**

 **Accessories**

 **Left Hand: [ ]**

 **Right Hand: [ ]**

 **Utility: [Belt]**

 **Wrist: [ ]**

 **[ ] [ ]**

 **[ ] [ ]**

[ ]

It had the standard equipment; clothes, armor, weapons, and whatnot, but it also had five empty slots below the labeled equipment slots. The tutorial said that he couldn't equip things from the Inventory, but it didn't say anything about storing things. If his theory was right...

He pulled out a pencil from his pocket, holding it unsurely in front of one of the empty slots. He pushed it forward, and, like he hoped, it phased out of existence, and the slot was filled.

 **Weapons**

 **Main Hand: [?]**

 **Off Hand: [ ]**

 **Armor**

 **Chest: [Training Breastplate]**

 **Legs: [ ]**

 **Arms: [Training Spaulders]**

 **Hands: [Fingerless Leather Gloves]**

 **Feet: [ ]**

 **Head: [ ]**

 **Clothes**

 **Shirt: [T-Shirt]**

 **Pants: [Blue Jeans]**

 **Jacket: [Black Hoodie]**

 **Shoes: [Old Tennis Shoes]**

 **Hat: [ ]**

 **Accessories**

 **Left Hand: [ ]**

 **Right Hand: [ ]**

 **Utility: [Belt]**

 **Wrist: [ ]**

 **[Dixon Ticonderoga HB #2] [ ]**

 **[ ] [ ]**

[ ]

'They ARE Item Slots!'

He silently cheered his success. He quickly pulled the pencil out, which was as easy as reaching into the Inventory and grabbing it, and tried a larger item: his sword.

 **Weapons**

 **Main Hand: [ ]**

 **Off Hand: [ ]**

 **Armor**

 **Chest: [Training Chestplate]**

 **Legs: [ ]**

 **Arms: [Training Spaulders]**

 **Hands: [Fingerless Leather Gloves]**

 **Feet: [ ]**

 **Head: [ ]**

 **Clothes**

 **Shirt: [T-Shirt]**

 **Pants: [Blue Jeans]**

 **Jacket: [Black Hoodie]**

 **Shoes: [Old Tennis Shoes]**

 **Hat: [ ]**

 **Accessories**

 **Left Hand: [ ]**

 **Right Hand: [ ]**

 **Utility: [Belt]**

 **Wrist: [ ]**

 **[?] [ ]**

 **[ ] [ ]**

[ ]

'It worked!'

With this he could carry five items of, hopefully, any weight and it wouldn't encumber him. At least, he couldn't feel his sword's weight anymore, so that was his theory.

Leaving his sword in his Inventory, he navigated to the Skills Tab.

 ** **SPECIAL****

 ** **S: 5 (0%)****

 ** **P: 5 (78%)****

 ** **E: 4 (66%)****

 ** **C: 5 (23%)****

 ** **I: 5 (45 %)****

 ** **A: 7 (0%)****

 ** **L: 8 (12%)****

 ** **Skills****

 ** **Swordsmanship Mastery: 15 (0%)****

 ** **Light Armor Mastery: 10 (0%)****

 ** **Parrying Mastery: 15 (0%)****

 ** **The Gamer's Mind (Toggle)****

 ** **The Gamer's Body (Toggle)****

 ** **Perks****

 ** **The Gamer****

Jaune's finger inched towards the Swordsmanship Mastery Skill, wanting to see what would happen if he clicked on it. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately for his tired body, Professor Goodwitch announced lights out, and Blake's illuminating candle was promptly extinguished, leaving Ruby, Yang, and a third, previously unheard person to stumble back to their sleeping bags, muttering apologies, profanities, and something about insufferable dolts respectively.

Maybe he missed something?

He decided it mattered little, and, just now finding out his Semblance didn't give off light, lied down to go to bed, deciding he would find time to really investigate his Semblance in the coming week. The floor was still uncomfortable, but he would have to make do.

Tomorrow was a big day, after all.

* * *

 **AN:** And that's chapter two! I hope you enjoyed.

Now comes the hellish part where I have to come up with a team name for Jaune's team, and the other team that I won't be spoiling here. A lot of you can probably easily spot Jaune's partner, but can you guess his other two teammates? Here's a hint: think RPG classes, with Jaune playing the Assassin-Tactician type. I can't wait to hear your guesses.

And thanks to everyone who reviewed, namely Riero, who helped me iron out a few points and make some small changes to the first chapter, which have already been implemented. You might want to reread the last chapter to make sure you didn't miss anything, just to be safe.

Also, this chapter has a lot of last second editing in it, so if you see any mistakes let me know. I'll try to fix them at some point.

Thanks again for reading, and don't forget to review!

Svenska är skit: vad är ditt mest "stolta" eller "coola" spel ögonblick? (What is your most "cool" or "proud" game moments?")

Honestly, any time I get to work with my friends to win is my proudest moment. That's why I love coop games and team games. My friends don't take tactics as seriously as I do, so I usually come up with the plan. It's a great feeling when it works, but of course it usually doesn't.

My favorite moment was probably in Battlefield 3, when we were attacking in Rush and my squad single-handedly took out the entire team in an ambush. I can't remember the map name, but it was the one where you attack a beach/port area from a carrier, and it was a desert map. My second favorite was in Battlefield 4, the icy prison map that I also forgot the name of. My squad of two, me and my friend, holding a hallway to stop a group of reinforcments from sneaking up on the rest of our team. We ended up dying, but took out enough of them in the process so they couldn't break out line. It was pretty great.

I've actually been told I should try and go pro before. But I don't think I could ever really get into super serious games like Counter-Strike or League. I'm more of a casual gamer that likes to explore dungeons.


	3. Initiation

**AN:** Wow, guys! I've been gone for longer than I anticipated, but you have all **seriously surprised me with the amount of support** for this story! Not My Class has gotten **continuous visits** , follows, and favorites everyday for the **past month** , totaling at **218 follows** and **149 favorites** with **4,129 views!** That's kinda insane for someone like me, who only really started writing this for fun.

So, again, thank you all for reading and, hopefully, enjoying this story. I hope I can live up to your expectations.

Oh, the pressure... (kidding)

Now, for those that care, I've decided to make a little section right at the start of the AN for Guest reviews that I can't reply to in a PM. Seriously guys, why don't you have accounts? Maybe there's some reason I'm missing...

LogicofZaman: Lying in wait? Are you trying to ambush me or something? Joking, but seriously, thanks for the kind words. And thanks for reminding me of the map names. I haven't played Battlefield in a long time, I wish I could again.

Guest (Ch.2): You're half right. I'll let you decide which half is right though.

We have 35 reviews so far, and I love that. Keep 'em coming, I love to hear your feedback, both positive and negative!

Now, onto Jaune...

* * *

Jaune awoke much better than he thought he would. Despite the thin carpet, his back was relatively unaffected by the stiffness he normally felt after sleeping in such an uncomfortable position. He sat up slowly, groggily yawning into his hand before looking out the window to gauge the time.

It was morning, obviously. The sun was just peaking over the horizon, framing the trees of the Emerald Forest in a blaze of orange and gold. Due to his survivalist family's many teachings, he knew the day would be clear and sunny by the color of the morning sky. That and he couldn't see a nasty black cloud in sight, but he wanted to think those lessons that were drilled into his head ever since he was a child weren't completely pointless.

He straightened out, stretching to rid himself of the tension in his bones. A piece of fabric fell from his shoulders, and he realized someone must have put a blanket on him while he slept. That explained why he wasn't freezing cold all night. Although, he did wonder who would do such a thing. He didn't exactly make the best of first impressions yesterday, except in Ruby's case. Examining the blanket didn't help him either, it was just a normal, black blanket with some purple flowers on it.

Lazily abandoning the blanket, he rubbed the sleep from his eyes, still taking in his surroundings.

Most of the other students-to-be were up and about, heading to the changing rooms or searching for a decent meal in the labyrinth of a school. Some were still sleeping or waking just like he was, and others were still taking their time to enjoy the morning quiet with a game of cards.

He, on the other hand, cracked his back, feeling the satisfying pops relieve the minor tension he had gained from his deep slumber.

Peeling the rest of the black, floral-patterned blanket off, Jaune folded it neatly so the owner could reclaim it when they came back. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a note taped to his breastplate, which he had put to the side with the rest of his armor while he slept. He snatched it up and read the small, hastily written message.

 _Hey, Jaune!_

 _You missed the announcement but none of us wanted to wake you, so I'm writing this note. Kinda obvious huh?_

 _Ignore that last part._

 _Anyways, one of the Professors came by personally to tell you to check locker 636 for your supplies. Apparently it arrived late, or something._

 _Oh, I almost forgot! Thanks again for helping me out yesterday! I was kinda having a hard time, as you could probably tell. Stupid Yang, leaving me alone like that. The nerve of her sometimes..._

 _Well, that's all I wanted to say. Good luck with Initiation!_

 _-Ruby_

Jaune chuckled.

'So Ruby writes personal notes? That's kinda adorable...'

It actually reminded him of his little sister, Vert. She would always leave him little notes around their house, in places only he would find. The notes often meant nothing, just things that happened at school or some poem she came up with. But sometimes she would leave riddles in them, and if he figured them out it would lead him to some 'treasure'. Of course, treasure to an eight year old wasn't exactly the same as treasure to a seventeen year old. It still warmed his heart nonetheless when he found one of her drawings pinned onto the old oak behind their house.

The way Ruby wrote the letter was completely different, but...

'Wait...'

Jaune reread Ruby's note.

'636? I never had anything else to check in. But, a Professor said it was mine...?'

Jaune's pondering was interrupted when his stomach growled. He rubbed it to alleviate some of the hunger he was feeling, but it wouldn't settle for that, only growling louder in retort. He shoved the note in his pocket.

He would have to figure it out later, it was breakfast time.

With that thought planted firmly in his head, and his protesting stomach reminding him of its desire to be filled constantly, he strapped on his armor and followed the rest of the first-years into the courtyard.

* * *

"Ah, that was a good breakfast." Jaune rubbed his belly like a jolly old fat man, enjoying the satisfying warmth of a full stomach.

The kitchen was just serving the last of its eggs and bacon by the time he found his way to the cafeteria, and he thanked whatever deity who blessed his luck that morning. Though, thinking about it, his Luck Attribute might have had something to do with it. He wasn't sure how exactly his Attributes and Skills affected him yet, so maybe it allowed him to get there on time.

Either way, his stomach was very satisfied now that he had breakfast, and he could finally investigate the mysterious locker 636.

"The lunch lady said it was around here..." he watched the signs that hung above the rooms as he passed by, making sure he wasn't missing the one he was looking for. Most of them were classrooms, like one would expect of a school, but he also passed both a janitors closet and a Dust Network office for on-site service.

"The Headmaster really didn't pull any punches when outfitting the school, did he?" He said to no one in particular, passing a rather complicated-looking vending machine as he did.

The gray walls of Beacon made it hard for him to discern which part of the school he was in, but he was fairly sure it was somewhere near the cliff behind the school. Why they built the school on a plateau surrounded by sheer cliffs leading to certain death was beyond him.

He passed by the fifteenth identical classroom before he spotted his destination.

"There it is! The locker room." As he approached, the door opened unexpectedly, forcing him to step to the side for whoever was leaving. He was surprised to recognize Ren as he lead a hyperactive ginger out of the locker room. She was babbling on about sloths, but Ren wasn't paying attention. Or at least, Jaune didn't think he was. It was hard to tell with a quiet guy like him.

Ren gave a respectful nod as he passed, and Jaune returned it with an awkward wave. Remembering why he was there, he caught the door before it closed and entered.

As he expected, the room was filled with lockers. What he didn't expect, however, was the sheer amount of lockers. Sure, his locker was number 636, but there had to be at least a thousand in that room alone, not to mention the other locker rooms dotted around campus.

"Just how many students go to this school?" He, once again, questioned to no one in particular.

"Around five thousand, I think." Answered someone in particular.

Surprised, Jaune jumped a bit as he whipped his head around to the speaker. The first thing that caught his attention was that they actually had an unlocked Overview, unlike nearly everyone in the academy beside Ruby and Blake.

 **Yang Xiao Long**

 **"Golden Dragon"**

 **Lvl 6**

"Woah!? Yang? Don't sneak up on me like that!" Reigning in his surprise, Jaune finally made eye contact with the busty blonde, who chuckled at his overreaction.

"Sorry, Vomit Boy." She loaded a Dust-grade shell into a yellow gauntlet on her wrist, followed by another. "But didn't you walk up to me?"

"Uh, good point. Sorry." He rubbed his nape in embarrassment. Yang finished loading her gauntlets, flashing him a grin as she shifted them back into bracelets with a flick of her wrist.

"It's all good. So, you ready for Initiation?" Closing her locker, she grabbed a nearby milk carton and took a hearty gulp while turning to him.

The Initiation. He hadn't heard about it during the speech, since he was preoccupied with his Semblance, but he did hear a lot of rumors surrounding it flying around during lunch.

"Oh yeah. Isn't it like a test or something?" He questioned, wondering what type of test they would have to take. He hated essay questions, so he was really hoping they didn't use any of those.

Yang smiled good-naturally, sitting on the bench that ran down the aisle of lockers. "Yeah, Goody-goody..."

'Goody-goody?'

"...didn't really say much, but it's supposed to be like a final test. We have to prove ourselves capable of being here, or some other official crap like that." She smiled confidently out the window, towards the cliff overlooking the Emerald Forest. "I hope that means we'll be able to pummel some Grimm!" She pounded her fists together, making her Aura flare around her like flame to a candle, crushing the milk carton in the process.

And that's when it suddenly dawned on Jaune that a test for Hunters-in-training wouldn't be like a normal test for regular teenagers. He would most likely be forced to fight, and he was definitely not ready for that. If he had to fight Grimm, or other students for that matter, he would be killed before he could even draw his sword.

He imagined himself in the middle of battle, fighting for his life, swinging left and right in a vain attempt to stem the tide of Grimm, only to be overwhelmed and having his flesh torn off, suffering in the worst way possible as some monstrous beast he had only heard of in his nightmares devoured him alive.

He took a breath to calm himself down.

He could do it. He had his Aura now and he had a lot of it, so he would be fine. Not to mention he had his new Gamer ability, that would surely help him at some point. He could do it, he could definitely pull it off if he tried hard enough.

And then he would train like hell afterward, so that he could fight without relying on his Semblance. He knew he could do it, he knew he had to do it. He was going to be a hero, after all!

Though, his hands still quivered when he thought of the snarling Grimm of his nightmares.

"Hey, Jaune? Helloooo~?" Yang waved her hand in front of his face, breaking him from that scary line of thought. "You okay? You look a little pale..." she leaned forward with a look of almost motherly worry.

Jaune waved her concerns off. "Of course! I'm just a little... nervous, I guess." He shrugged lamely.

Yang smiled again, but it was more reassuring than the blinding radiance it had last night. "Hey, don't worry. We're all going to do fine. The Professors will step in if it gets too dangerous." Her smile suddenly turned playful, followed by a light punch to the shoulder. "Don't throw up on me now, Vomit Boy."

Despite how much he hated that nickname, the casual joke made him chuckle. He felt the butterflies fly out of his stomach as the sound bounced off the cream white walls. Yang joined in with an open, friendly laugh.

The moment died down slowly, and he was left feeling much more refreshed. "Thanks, Yang. I feel a lot better now."

"No problem, Vomit Boy." She leaned back on the bench, near the discarded milk carton, kicking her feet back and forth with a teasing smile.

"Ugh, you're never going to stop with that, are you?"

She closed her eyes, still smiling, "Nope!"

He chuckled at her casual attitude, feeling some of his scorn towards the name being alleviated.

"Well, I've gotta go find my locker. See you later." He waved to her, getting a simple, "See ya!", in response as he left.

Of course, he shouldn't be so worried. The Professors would surely step in if things got too dangerous...

'… right?'

 **Charisma +1!**

 **The Relationship Tab has been updated.**

Surprised, Jaune quickly whispered "Relationship Tab" to check what the update entailed as he walked.

 **Relationships**

 **Blake Belladonna (None): Awkward**

 **Janis Arc (Arc Family): Close Family**

 **Ruby Rose (Xiao Long-Rose Family): Friend**

 **Yang Xiao Long (Xiao Long-Rose Family): Friend**

 **Lie Ren (Lie Clan): Neutral**

 **Cardin Winchester (Winchester Family): Abysmal**

 **Relations**

 **Arc Family: Estranged**

 **Beacon: Student-To-Be**

 **Titles**

 **Vomit Boy**

 **Runaway**

 **Friend Of Death**

 **Friends**

 **Janis Arc (Lvl 9)**

 **Ruby Rose (Lvl 7)**

 **Yang Xiao Long (Lvl 6)**

 **Enemies**

 **Cardin Winchester (Lvl 5)**

 **Party**

 **Create Party**

'Wow, making friends isn't as hard as I thought.'

Not to mention the new Enemy portion, but he honestly didn't care much about his relationship with that bully, so he counted his blessings instead. The Party function greatly interested him, but there were two problems with using it. One, he had to reveal his Semblance to someone and convince them he wasn't a raving lunatic. And two, he actually had to have someone who would be willing to test out a strange new ability that breaks most laws of the universe as the world knew it.

He was drawing a blank on anyone in particular, mainly because he doubted anyone would actually trust him enough to be in his party. Ruby was always an option, but...

"YANG! Did you drink my milk!?"

… she seemed a bit naive when it came to the world around her. He didn't want to take advantage of that.

Ignoring the angry shouts of the small reaper and the half-hearted apologies of her sister, Jaune continued forward, still pondering the functions of his Semblance.

'If the rumors about partners are true, then maybe I can get mine to help me. But what if they don't trust me? How would that even work? Are we able to apply for new partners or something? What if-'

 **THUD!**

Jaune fell to the floor, holding his nose in pain. Grimacing, he rubbed his nose gingerly while his world spun in directions it shouldn't.

"Are you alright?"

When his vision righted itself, he tilted his head back to look at the source of the new voice.

A girl with vibrant red hair and warm green eyes crouched over him with concern, holding her hand out as if she were debating helping him or not. What's more, she had a look of uncertainty, like she was afraid he would turn into a monster before her eyes if she wasn't careful.

Then someone scoffed, making both Jaune and the crimson-headed girl turn to the derisive noise.

"Don't bother, Pyrrha. If he was oblivious enough to walk into a locker, then he's not worth the time." The second girl's words pierced his pride, but he couldn't deny the truth behind them. He must look like an idiot after doing something so stupid.

"Concern for others is a part of being a Huntress, Weiss." The flame-headed girl, Pyrrha, stood up and turned to her much shorter, much more impatient, friend.

"Yes, yes, but he seems to be fine. His skull is probably harder than the locker anyway. Now, back to the issue of partnership..." Jaune's head perked up at the subject they were discussing, but also because of their Overviews.

 **Pyrrha Nikos**

 **"The Invincible Girl"**

 **Lvl 13**

 **Weiss Schnee**

 **"Cracked Mirror"**

 **Lvl 6**

'How can I see their Overview? They haven't introduced themselves yet.'

 _"… Pyrrha..."_

 _"… Weiss..."_

'Was it because I heard their names?'

But... that didn't make any sense to him. He had only heard their first names, so there shouldn't be any way for his Semblance to provide their full names, nor their info for that matter.

'Unless... was I wrong?'

He suddenly remembered that Yang didn't actually say her full name either, when she introduced herself last night. And Ruby didn't mention her full name until after her Overview was unlocked, too.

'So, I don't have to actually bother meeting them, I just have to know their name...'

 **Perception +1!**

 **Intelligence +1!**

'...'

Jaune stared at the blue boxes, wondering why he was even surprised by their sudden appearance anymore.

"Are you just going to sit there and stare all day, or what?" Jaune blinked, realizing that he had blanked out of reality for a second; a new habit of his, apparently. "Or did you actually hurt your head?" The girl in white, Weiss, stepped closer with her hands on her hips and a scowl that seemed glued on.

"U-uh, ye- I mean, no! I'm fine, thanks for asking! I just, kinda, spaced out for a second, that's all." Weiss stepped back, seemingly shocked by his statement, before scowling at him again.

"I didn't ask if you were alright, I asked if you were going to sit there and stare at us like a leach all day!" She suddenly turned to Pyrrha, who had taken to standing on the sidelines with her hands politely folded over each other. "See, THIS is why we should be partners. So, we don't get stuck with dunces like this."

Jaune jumped up to defend himself. "I-I didn't mean it like that! I was-" he looked to his right, where a number caught his attention, "I was looking for my locker, right here! 636!" He didn't really know why he lied, especially since he didn't do anything wrong, but it was definitely the easiest and most convenient solution.

Weiss scrutinized him, squinting as if that would help her see through his not-lie. "Fine, just hurry up and finish whatever it is you're doing. Come on Pyrrha, Initiation starts soon." Pyrrha waved politely as she followed her steaming friend out, which he returned.

Sighing in relief, he turned to his locker.

It looked like a locker; gray, plain, and relatively unrecognizable from it's many brothers and sisters save for the number 636 plaqued on the front, but it had a very high-tech keypad with a slot for his thumb.

Inserting his thumb, the thumb-slot lit up in a blue glow, and a holographic message popped up over the keypad.

 **Please enter your emergency code.**

Jaune wanted to question why he needed an emergency code for his locker, but decided he probably didn't actually want to know. He entered the one code that he never failed to remember.

"0-4-2-4-1-9-9-0."

He couldn't remember where or why he learned that code, but it was one he never forgot, so he didn't worry about the details.

Hearing the affirmative beep, Jaune watched in awe as the locker door slid open automatically.

"The Headmaster definitely didn't pull any punches..." Waking up from his stupefied state, he cocked his head at the contents of the locker.

A single dufflebag sat in the corner while a lone white hoodie hung from the clothes rack. A plain, white envelope sat on top of the dufflebag. Curious, he turned the envelope over to see the sender.

"Janis!?" Genuinely surprised to see a letter from his sister so soon, he quickly ripped the envelope open and began to read her letter.

 _Dear Brother,_

 _If all has gone well with the delivery process at Beacon, you will have received this letter and an assortment of supplies soon after your departure. I can only hope that I saw you off with an encouraging smile instead of a teary sadness. I imagine you are no doubt confused as to why you are receiving this letter, and I would say that it is the final act of support I will be able to give until you return home. As we both know, Dad will not approve of your decision to leave, and he will not approve of my decision to help you. So, with that in mind, I sent a modest amount of clothing and toiletries until you are settled enough to support yourself, as well as your favorite hoodie that I knew you would forget, in anticipation of his rage. This may be my last physical package, but do not hesitate to write me back if you so wish, I will always respond. And don't forget to visit once all this business is settled, we will all miss you dearly while you are gone._

 _I wish you luck on your endeavors._

 _Sincerely, Janis_

Carefully folding the letter and placing it back into it's envelope, Jaune retrieved his hoodie from the locker, spreading it so he could see the full emblem on the back.

White with black accents, and lined with a comfortable black inside. A full-broken moon made from gold silk on it's back, and old nicks, rips and stains filled Jaune with nostalgia of his childhood, and the humbleness of old pains passed. The happiest and saddest moments of his life flashed by in his mind, and the Info window that popped up from staring at it so long helped cement those feelings.

 **Lucky Hoodie (One-Of-A-Kind)**

 **Sewn by the hand of a loving mother, this hoodie was beloved by the son that received it. Wearing it day and night for a week until he was forced to wash it, and then repeating the cycle over again. The mother smiled as her son played in it, and before she knew it, years had flown by. He wore it until she finally had to readjust it to fit his teenage body, even as her own body was growing weaker by the day. With a weak grip, she finished the refitting, wrapping it as a tidy present. She presented it with the same caring smile she had in the past, and she did not lose that smile until her very last breath. Praying that it brought her son good fortune.**

 **Type: Jacket**

 **Skill: Light Armor Mastery**

 **Effects: Immune to Ice and Cold Damage**

 **Bonus: +5 Luck; +5% more Lien dropped by enemies**

 **Info: The Mother's Blessing grants a passive boost to Luck and fortune; Bonus only affects Jaune Arc.**

Jaune felt his eyes become a little misty and smiled sadly as he read the "flavor-text". His mother had indeed sewn this herself when he was ten and again when he was fifteen, after he ripped it while stretching during training. She had developed a fatal illness when he was twelve and miraculously fought it for three years. According to the nurse assigned to watch her, sewing his hoodie again was her last wish before she passed on.

He thanked his mom, not only for being such a terrific parent, but also for helping inadvertently clear up another issue of his Semblance. The history of the items he picked up wasn't just flavor-text, it was real history. It was all true.

Wiping his eyes to clear the faint signs of tears, he replaced his black hoodie with the Lucky Hoodie. He beamed as the familiar fabric conformed to his figure perfectly, flexing to make sure nothing was too tight or loose. The armor he received from Janis also seemed to fit perfectly over it.

"Would all first-year students please report to Beacon Cliff for Initiation. Again, all first-year students report to Beacon Cliff immediately." Jaune glanced at the announcement speaker before closing his locker.

"Come on, come on- Oh hey, Jaune! Cool hoodie!" Jaune strapped his sword to his hip as he turned to Ruby's voice, still beaming.

"Thanks, Ruby. Soooo... Initiation huh?" He casually stepped into line with Ruby and Yang as they made their way towards the exit.

"Yeah! I'm so excited! I wonder what they'll make us do?" Jaune shrugged.

"Who knows? But whatever it is, I know we'll be fine." Yang stepped in front of him, her ever present smirk turning a bit curious.

"Oh~? Aren't you confident all of a sudden." Jaune smiled back, no longer feeling nervous around her boisterous personality.

"Yeah! There is no way that this day could be ruined!"

* * *

"What!?" Jaune was wrong, so very, very wrong. He and Ruby were both surprised by the Headmasters speech, but for two very different reasons.

Ruby, understandably, was shocked at the notion they had to pair up with the person they first make eye contact with. Which, for the record, was completely ridiculous to Jaune as well, because of the obvious social shortcomings he had. But Jaune was more surprised that they would be _thrown_ instead of, you know, _dropped off like sensible people_!

"Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path, or you will die." And then that line had to cut into his thoughts like a knife through melted butter. He was honestly starting to wonder how sane the Headmaster was for putting them through such a ridiculous test, or how sane the students were for actually accepting it without question!

"You will be monitored and graded for the duration of your Initiation. But, our instructors will not intervene." Jaune glared at Yang out of the corner of his eye, where she was whistling into the sky like she didn't give him false hope not half an hour ago. "You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path, containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. You will guard that item, as well as your standing, and you shall be graded appropriately. Are there any questions?"

Jaune raised his hand, "Yea-", and was promptly sent flying through the air. The wind assaulted his ears, only being overpowered by his own screaming. Through teary vision, he could see only one thing: a giant, blue text box that hovered a few inches from his wind-whipped face.

 **Quest: Initiation**

* * *

 **AN:** Hey guys, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I'm really sorry for the lack of updates in the past month, but college has been a big dig into my free time, and it probably will continue to be. So, I apologize in advance if it takes another few weeks to get anything out.

In better news, I've been "researching" possible ways to manipulate the Gamer ability by playing Fairy Fencer F and Valkyrie Chronicles, which are both great games. I have been having trouble coming up with a good plot, though, because I keep having new ideas and scrapping old ones, and then wondering if it's really good, and then repeating that tedious process. It's a hassle, but I'll figure it out.

Oh! That reminds me!

I'm so happy! I suddenly came up with a great name for Jaune's team in the middle of the night. It might not follow Monty's team name rules exactly, but it's good enough for me. Now, all I have to do is come up with a good name for his sister team (is it Ruby's team or is someone else made leader? Find out, uh ... sometime in the future!).

Quick shout-out to Ddragon21 for giving me the idea behind Jaune's Lucky Hoodie, which is based off of Desmond Miles' hoodie from Assassin's Creed with Crocea's color scheme minus the blue. Also, just realized while writing this that Desmond's last named is Miles... huh.

Well, I have two speeches and a postcard project due on Thursday, so I have to go. See you later!

(Bonus points to those that can figure out what the code to Jaune's locker is. Your hint for the day is: **Luna!** )

* * *

Svenska är skit: Om jag på något sätt hade fått tag på en färdig version av Fallout 4 skulle jag kunna få din själ i utbyte mot den? (If I (Maxaro) had somehow got hold of a finished version of Fallout 4 could I get your soul in exchange for it?)

YES! ONE THOUSAND TIMES YES! I pre-ordered it the day after it was announced, refunding a broken Witcher 3 over Steam (Thank you so much, my steamy overlords). But if you had one right now, I would pay to have it shipped here and hand over my soul on a gold-encrusted silver platter. (Plus, I trust you with my soul over someone shady, like the Devil or Kevin. RTAA references!)


	4. Update (12615)

(Important info in **BOLD** )

Yo, everyone. **I'm Not Dead!**

I'm back with a brief update to, well, my **NOT** -updating.

It honestly feels wrong to apologize for why I haven't been updating, so I won't. I'll just fill you in with a few words:

 **College. Has. Been. Busy.**

And, I expect it will continue to be. To clarify, I'm a **full-time animation student working towards a Bachelor in Media Arts/Animation**. That means I'm stuck with **3-4 classes that are about 2-3 hours long 2 times a week**. I usually have about a **single, week-long project in each of them every week**. **Maybe more** , depending on the teacher. So, as one might expect, it was very overwhelming for the past few months!

But, I've found it. My equilibrium. The perfect balance of work, rest, and recreation. Thanks to that, my stress levels are way down, and I'm getting better grades (even getting some projects displayed in the halls).

But **don't expect more updates like before**. Sorry to crush your hopes, but I'm still really busy. If I update at all, it'll be something random, probably not relating to Not My Class; maybe a one-shot, I don't know.

And that brings me to my **SECOND** big set of news: **Not My Class is changing direction**.

As I've been working on my degree, I've also been thinking about where this story is going, and, well, I decided to make some changes. **First of all, I honestly hated the first chapter after I started to think about this as a serious story** instead of another comedy session filled with accidental groping. I have a message I want to get across, and I feel like the cheesy, unrealistic anime-boob-grab gag cheapens anything I put into the story (even if it is kinda funny).

 **Secondly, I'm removing The Gamer from the story**. Sorry guys, but no matter how I tried to write it in, it just felt clunky, and odd, and wholly useless to the story in general. It was either so overpowered that it wasn't interesting, or so underpowered that it felt like less of a Semblance and more of a burden. Plus, fitting the grinding, relationship system, and quest system into a story with an actual plot was too confusing to keep up with, and it really dragged the story down the drain after a while. Some of you even voiced this concern in the reviews. So, it's out. (But this doesn't mean I'm done with The Gamer. I still have ideas for it, just not in this story.)

With this comes some more changes, namely the name. **Not My Class doesn't really make any sense anymore now that there aren't any classes or game mechanics**. I already have another one in mind, so don't worry about that.

And, of course, it means **I'll need to rewrite the first three chapters**. That's already in the works, but, again, don't get your hopes up for a chapter anytime soon. I've also expanded on the idea of romance (because y'all know I'm a sucker for good fluffy kissy-faces), so do me a favor and **let me know who you guys want Jaune to be romantically involved with, between 1. Blake 2. Ruby and 3. Yang. No room for debate between these three. Sorry, not sorry. You can send me a PM, leave a review, or vote in the poll on my profile to make your picks.**

That's really it, so if you have any questions feel free to leave a review or PM me. And, if you want to check out anything else I might spontaneously release, follow me directly so you get an alert. I also have some other (maybe unfinished) stories that you can check out too.

Alright, shameless plug over. Have a great day/night/what-the-hell-ever, everyone!


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